One of my favorite plants came with the house. They were planted on the west side of our yard where our neighbor’s tall oaks provided considerable afternoon shade. The plants looked somewhat like dandelions when they first appeared, but luckily something made me hesitate to rip them out. All the plants grew but only one of them managed to find enough sunlight to bloom.

Recognizing that they needed more light, I dug them up the following fall and moved them to a spot that would get more sun. I was delighted when they bloomed the following spring, and I decided to leave them to reseed. The poppies rewarded me that next spring with even more blooms. After a couple of years I had a mass of brilliant orange poppies that any passerby could not help but notice.

But my tendency to rearrange my designs eventually resulted in poppies hitching a ride. I would dig up a plant that wasn’t doing well or that just didn’t seem to work where I’d originally put it. Then I would replant it somewhere else not knowing that a poppy root or seed had come along as well.

Sometimes squirrels move bulbs or seeds in my yard. Sometimes the birds or the wind will deliver something new, but it is I who have unintentionally left poppies everywhere.

4 Responses to Here a Poppy, There a Poppy

i love poppies! i love that yours have done so well. mine did not, too much clay perhaps, not enough tender loving care (well, it was my naivity not my callousness). i think one may have remained on the east side of the house — it’s something, so i’m letting it grow. do you have a pic of a small plant that might give me an idea? otherwise, you can look at it when you come in a couple weeks. be happy — keep gardening!!

There are so many kinds of poppies. I have two varieties (the other variety is not ready to bloom yet). Both of them look similar until they bloom. I am not familiar enough with the other varieties to know if their leaves are the same. I’ll take a look at it the next time I make it up your way. Do you have a picture of the bloom?

Only a fellow gardener would know, upon viewing your landscaping, that you have put boo-coodles of time and effort into that yard! And your poppies are rewarding you by showing how much they enjoy being a part of the whole thing. Congrats on a good job.

Our yard, OTOH, is more or less, a product of benign neglect – if anyone comments on it, I respond by saying we’re going for a semi-natural look – and I know no one buys that. Oh well, at least our weeds love us.

No one can do it all. I admire your devotion to cooking. I love good food but am a lazy cook. I like quick recipes that allow me to eat well without restricting my garden time. It’s all where our passions lie. I’ll keep checking your food stories and recipes. Perhaps when the heat of summer or the cold of winter drives me indoors, I’ll try one of your recipes. Bet they are as delightful as you make them sound!